Sunday buses
We need buses to run on Sundays so people can attend church. It will soon be one year of no buses on Sundays. Many of my neighbors, like myself, are elderly, disabled senior citizens whose only transportation is the bus and paratransit, none available on Sundays.
Even just the Kapahi shuttle and other shuttle buses would enable hundreds, or thousands, of people to get to church, go to work, get groceries, leave home, go to the beach or anywhere.
Help the kupuna of Kaua‘i by returning bus service on Sundays. This has gone on for too long. Kauai Bus budget cuts, in the name of profit, are having a detrimental effect on the citizens of Kaua‘i. Please everybody speak up about this. Contact Kaua‘i Bus.
Help older folks in need, some of the most vulnerable of our population, get the basic life services they should be receiving, like public transportation.
Furthermore, with school starting, if there are not school bus drivers for Kapa‘a schools, all Kaua‘i bus drivers driving those routes deserve double pay, because they are doing both jobs.
The public deserves free bus passes because buses filled with teenagers cussing, hitting each other, launching their bodies into others and the extreme volume they make is dangerous for everyone.
And often the bus driver says “too full can’t take you” to senior citizens with groceries and serious health issues, who have to wait an hour, with food spoiling and melting, hoping they can get on the next bus.
If Kaua‘i can import 24 teachers from the Philippines this school year, Kaua‘i can surely import a few school bus drivers from anywhere.
The senior citizens, and all of Kaua‘i citizens who rely on the bus for transportation, have suffered enough throughout this past year, our bus drivers included, and it is time to remedy these problems Now, before Aug. 27, which is the date Kaua‘i bus announced, no buses on Sundays and no paratransit either.
Public outcry is needed to demand this is unacceptable and ensure safe, reliable transportation for everyone, elderly and students at Kapa‘a schools.
For people who love God and get to attend church, I ask for prayer requests for all the people like myself who have been unable to attend church for a year and we really miss the fellowship, worship and social interaction with others that we have not had for a year.
Many older people are very lonely, have no one and church is a highlight of their life. Pray for Kaua‘i Bus to reinstate service on Sundays for all the people desperately wanting to attend their churches and everyone else in need of transportation on Sundays too. Thank you.
Carla Hart, Kapa‘a
‘You’re welcome’
“I’m in the flow!” I gushed to my husband after leaving the mama cat I trapped for her sterilization surgery.
It was my day off, and I’d zipped up to the North Shore in the morning. Returning south to Kapa‘a, I passed a sign for the SPCA free spay/neuter.
The day before, Kaua‘i Animal Welfare loaned me traps and kennels for capture of a black mother cat and her three black 4-week-old kittens living under a neighbor’s shed. With permission I set the trap, checking an hour later to discover I’d caught the mother cat.
I drove to Anahola and my good fortune was when they accepted drop-ins. Registration on their website is advised. The clean and organized MASH unit had me and mama cat processed in minutes. Beside me was a woman with five cats she’d trapped at her church. She shared that this is her 11th feline to utilize the service.
At 2:45 p.m., just three hours later, I retrieved my capture to keep kenneled overnight. They recommend 24 hours for recoup, but my sleepless night worrying abut the kittens prompted me to release her at hour 20. I said to my husband, “I’ve found my purpose. I feel energized knowing how to serve my neighborhood.”
A year ago, a black mother cat birthed four kittens in this same area. All live on a corner of Kawaihau. One was killed by a car.
Then, last week I see three more black kittens, this time nursing their mother in the road. I pull over to shush them off and that’s when I know I’m going to trap and sterilize them.
Here is the turn in the story: Walking my dogs an hour after the release of “Mama,” I pass the shed to discover the kittens and mother cat playing on the lawn, only this black cat has two triangular ears. Which is to say, one ear is not tipped to mark as a previous capture.
So to whoever’s cat I had spayed, “You’re welcome.”
Pam Woolway, Kapa‘a
Beguiling move
Hawaiian Electric Industries is represented by highly qualified legal counsel experienced with the California wildfires and the resultant Pacific Gas and Electric bankruptcy. Nevertheless, were I an HEI shareholder, I would question the wisdom of contributing $2 billion to a settlement where the tangible book value of HEI is just a shade over $2 billion.
Hawai‘i has never applied inverse condemnation to hold utilities strictly liable, as is the case in California. Even were negligence provable, HEI should not be liable for the negligence of Maui Electric, a separate subsidiary that could seek independent bankruptcy protection involving far fewer assets.
I do not question the public benefit in avoiding a protracted legal battle, but how are HEI shareholders protected by a capitulation which essentially admits fault and ignores the whole purpose of owning Maui Electric as a separate subsidiary?
John Keiser, Makiki, Hawai‘i
Waikiki kupuna
I am the president of the Gold Coast Neighborhood Association, and very concerned about the elimination of TheBus route 20 serving Kapiolani Park businesses and residences.
There was no public meeting for the affected neighborhood before this route change was announced.
I hope this isn’t only about the ridership numbers, because route 20 serves kupuna and their caregivers, who support them in their homes, in addition to the employees who work in our local businesses.
These folks depend on the current route 20.
I would hope the importance of the service would outweigh the ridership numbers. Please reconsider.
Robert Gentry, Diamond Head, Hawai‘i
